Top 10 Moments for Macedonia in 2011

 

Although Macedonians witnessed many great things in 2011 both home and outside, here are the Top 10 memorable moments for 2011.

10. ICJ Win over Greece

-The ICJ win was expected, therefore it is placed at #10. One doesn't need to be an international scholar to figure out Greece functioned outside the legal norms and international laws. The nice thing of the ICJ win for Macedonia is that it echoed world wide! This certainly explains the undiplomatic language and nervousness displayed by Greek politicians the last few weeks.

9. New Bus Fleet for Skopje

- Perflectly timed, while Skopje is undergoing architectural modernization, the new bus fleet of single and double deck busses was the icing on the cake.

8. New Investments = More Jobs

- Macedonia saw more investments in 2011, than in the last 30 years combined! Numerous foreign companies (US, British, German, Russian, Italian, Turkish...) opened shops in the capital and other cities across the country. Some of the companies are Johnson Controls, Johnson Matthey, Kromberg and Schubert, Kemet Electronics, Prodis etc.

7. New Streets

-The city of Skopje invested millions of Euros to improve the infrastructure in the capital which was famous for its small streets and massive traffic jams. Thanks to the new investments, the streets have at least doubled in width, many are expanded, new boulevards and roads added to the infrastructure. Skopje's road infrastructure had not been previously upgraded for decades.

6. 20th Anniversary

-On September 8th, Macedonia celebrated its 20th anniversary. What a spectacle at a time when Macedonia started their run on the European championship in basketball in Lithuania.

5. Tose Proeski Memorial House #1 Architectural design in the world

-Tose Proeski's memorial building in Krusevo was voted #1 architectural design in the world.

4. New Airports

- Finally, Skopje's old airport became history and was replaced with a state of the art Airport, ten times bigger than the previous. With the new airport, numerous foreign airlines signed up which brought down airfares significantly! Now, Macedonians can enjoy a weekend in Venice for less than 100 euros. Ohrid's airport was also upgraded.

3. Alexander the Great Monument

- The Alexander the Great statue is a spectacular monument placed in downtown Skopje which has become the tourist attraction in the capital city. Today the location of this monument is utilized for Macedonians to celebrate holidays, sport wins etc.

2. European Champs in Karate

-Natasa Ilievska and Dejan Nedev both were crowned European champions in karate for 2011.

1. Macedonian Basketball Team

Went into the European championship hoping they will get to the second round, ended up playing for a medal.

Each game they played their hearts out, provided a true example of how one should play for the national team. 

Macedonia Supporting Low Cost Airlines

Macedonian Government has decided to grant EUR 1,4 million in subventions to low-cost airlines and to that effect a procedure for amending the law on air traffic is already opened, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakievski said Monday.
The aim is to attract more airlines to use the airports in Skopje and Ohrid, which are expected to introduce new destinations and cut the ticket prices, Janakieski said at the press conference on what his ministry has done for the 100 days since the making up of the new Government.
The ministry worked on realizing the program that won the trust of the electorate, namely resuming the reforms for better infrastructure, safe transport, inflow of new investments and higher living standard for the citizens of Macedonia, Janakieski said.
Listing the completed projects, he mentioned the reconstructed Skopje Airport 'Alexander the Great' - an EUR 100 million - investment of the Turkish 'TAV', construction of the highway 7,6 km-long section Tabanovce - Kumanovo - EUR 15,5 million, legalization of illegal buildings, procurement of new low-floor and double decker buses...

Skopje's new Airport Terminal Near Completion

The grand opening of Skopje's new world class passenger terminal, part of Alexander The Great Airport is slated for September 8, Macedonian Independence Day.
At a cost of €110 million the new terminal will be ten times bigger than the existing building and will allow for long-awaited improvements to passenger travel.
The terminal will feature six air bridges, 23 check-in desks and 15 passport control counters, stretching over more than 40,000 square metres. TAV says that they have completed more than 80 per cent of the construction of the building.
Work has also been done on the runway, which is being extended from 2.5 to 3.1 kilometres to ease the landing of larger aircraft. A new cargo terminal and road access to the airport and parking area are also being constructed.
“My vision for the airport is to make it the regional hub,” TAV Macedonia's director, Murat Ornekol, told News 24 TV recently. The management hopes to increase the annual number of passengers from slightly over half a million today to 3.5 million a year.
“In the past, many passengers headed to airports in neighbouring countries. Our goal is to attract those passengers back. And believe me the new terminal building has the capacity to accommodate this number,” Ornekol said.
Since TAV's entry, the airport has seen solid growth.  In the first half of 2011, the number of passengers increased by nearly 10 per cent. It has also welcomed new budget airlines like WizzAir, Air Berlin, XL Airways and soon the Turkish low budget carrier, Pegasus Airlines.

Turkish Airlines and other companies who already operate in Skopje are also expected to increase their number of flights.
TAV started construction work at the airport in mid-2010. The government chose the company to reconstruct and manage Macedonia's airports in 2008.
 Last year TAV finished reconstruction of the country’s second civil airport in the tourist town of Ohrid. TAV recently boasted that in only one year they increased the number of passengers there by a staggering 60 per cent.